Leg bracket for sawhorses, tables, and the like



April 25, 1961 R. D. GUTTING 2,981,365

LEG BRACKET FOR SAWHORSEIS, TABLES, AND THE LIKE Filed June 6, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I: z a

A Z! J I J A INVENTOR Faber! 0. Gaff/77g Arm/way.

April 25, 1961 p, GUTTING 2,981,366-

LEG BRACKET FOR SAWHORSES, TABLES, AND THE LIKE Filed June 6, 195a 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR United States Patent Robert D. Gutting, 831 W. 35th St., Topeka, Kans., as- ;gnor of fifteen percent to Clovis W. Bowen, Topeka,

ans.

Filed June 6, 1958, Ser. No. 740,256

3 Claims. (Cl. 182-224 This invention relates to new'and useful improvements in furniture appliances, and has particular r'eferenceito brackets for the attachment of supporting le'gs tosawhorses, tables, benches and the like.

-The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a bracket of the character described in which the leg members may be quickly and securely attached 1 1 in a new and novel manner requiring only a single bolt for a plurality of legs, in which the legs may be quickly and conveniently removed for replacement or for storage, in which the legs may be disposed in a downwardly divergent relation and at any spacing in order to provide good stability, and in which the bracket provides a broad, fixed support for the sawhorse cross bar, table top, or other member supported by said legs. When desired, the parts may be positioned so that the load supported by the table top or the like will be transmitted directly to the legs, thereby relieving the bracket itself of much of the load it would otherwise be required to support.

Other objects of the invention are simplicity and econorny of construction, efficiency and dependability of operation, and adaptability for use in a wide variety of applications.

With these objects in view, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the drawing, wherein: I

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a sawhorse including a leg bracket embodying the present invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken on line 11-11 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line III--III of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line IV-.IV of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is an end elevational view of a table including a bracket embodying the present invention, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line VI-VI of Fig. 5.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several views, and in the sawhorse shown in Figs. 1-4, the numeral 2 refers to the cross bar, usually a board or plank, the numeral 4 applies to each of four legs,

usually also formed of lengths of two-by-four lumber, and the numeral 6 applies generally to each of two brackets forming the subject matter of this invention, each of said brackets carrying two of legs 4.-

Each of brackets 6 comprises a box-like form open at top and bottom and consisting of a pair of spaced apart, parallel and vertical end walls 8, and a pair of spaced apart, downwardly divergent side walls 10, said end and side walls being welded, or otherwise secured together to form a rigid structure. The side walls 10 are extended upwardly to form flanges 12 adapted to lie respectively along the opposite longitudinal edges of cross bar 2, and to be secured'thereto by screws 14. Said cross bar also is supported on the upper edges of end walls 8, as best indicated at 16 in Fig. 4.

ice

The upper end portions of the two legs 4 to be carried by each bracket extend upwardly into the bracket, lying flat against .the divergent inner surfaces of side walls 10. Said legs are secured in the bracket by upper and lower clamp plates 18 and 20 extending therebetween within the bracket. Upper clamp plate 18 is of inverted V- shape, being highest at a point midway between side walls 10, and having downwardly divergent legs 22 adapted to engage legs 4 respectively at their outer edges, as indicated at 24. Lower clamp plate" 20 is of a substantial V -shape, being lowest at. a point midway between side walls 10, and having upwardly divergent legs 26 adapted to engage legs 4 respectively at their outer edges, as indicated at 28. The upper clamp plate is supported adjacent each of its four corners, closely adjacent legs 4, by an car. '30 struck out from the adjacent end wall "8. The two clamp plates are interconnected by a stovebolt 32 extending centrally therethrough. Said bolt has a head 34 at its. upper end, and a squared portion 36 adjacent said headwhich fits into a squared hole 38 in plate 18 to prevent rotation of said bolt. The lower end portion of said bolt extends through a hole 40 formed in plate 20, and has a wing nut 42 threaded thereon.

It will be understood that clamp plates 18 and 20, when relaxed, are sufficiently sharply angled that their ends do not extend to legs 4, and the parts may therefore be assembled loosely in the approximate position shown in Fig. 2. Nut 42 is then turned to draw the clamp plates closer together. Plate 20 is first elevated till its edges 28 contact legs 4. Further tightening of the bolt tends to flex both of plates 18 and 20 toward a flat position, whereupon their edges 24 and 28 are caused to spread outwardly and pres slightly against legs 4, biting into said legs as indicated, and said legs are secured very tightly in the bracket. The edges 24 and 28 may be toothed or serrated if desired, in order to bite more deeply into the legs, but this has been found to be generally unnecessary. Bars '30 serve both to support clamp plate 18 as it is initially flexed to bring its edges 24 into engagement with the legs, and also to lock the legs and clamp plates against slipping as a unit out from the enlarged lower end of the bracket housing.

Also, it will be seen that ears 30 serve as fulcrums for the legs 22 of plate 18, which act as levers pulling legs 4 upwardly into the bracket and pressing their upper ends firmly against cross bar 2. In this manner load supported by cross bar 2 is transmitted directly to the legs, and is in a large measure removed from the bracket itself. While the legs are shown as having only a line contact with cross bar 2, it will be apparent that the upper ends of the legs could be cut off at an angle to provide a broad area of contact.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a modification of the bracket particularly adapted for use in attaching legs to tables or other very broad objects. The bracket 44 shown therein is substantially similar, except for proportions, to brackets 6 already described, corresponding parts of the two brackets being indicated by similar numerals. The only difierences are that the side walls 18 thereof have no upwardly extending flanges as at 12 in bracket 6, and that end walls 8 are extended upwardly from said side walls to form flanges 46. The upper edges of side walls 10 support a stringer 48, such as a horizontal length of two-byfour lumber, flanges 46 extending upwardly along longitudinal edges of said stringer and being secured thereto by screws 50. A slab 52 forming a table top is in turn secured to stringer 48 by means of screws 54. It will of course be apparent that two or more brackets 44, and stringers 48, will be used for each table. It will be apparent also that brackets constructed as shown and described may be utilized for benches, chairs, and nearly any structure or appliance requiring supporting legs.

While I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, it will be apparent that numeras defined by the scope of the appended claims What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

2. A bracket as recited in claim 1 wherein said side Walls, and hence said legs, are disposed in downwardly divergent relation, and with the addition of support mem- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,870,174 Calton Aug. 2, 1932 1,953,012 Gerrard Mar. 27, 1934 2,096,668 Brown Oct. 19, 1937 2,132,285 Brown Oct. 4, 1938 2,317,444 Dalton Apr. 27, 1943 2,638,386 Larson May 12, 1953 

